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Monday, January 25, 2016

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Publisher: Crown
Published: February 11, 2014
Pages: 369
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 4 Stars


Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive.
Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills — and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength – he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany expertise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth.
As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive – but Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet.


In short: The Martian by Andy Weir is a creative and thrillingly plotted science-driven story with a super likeable protagonist.
Science! Science science science. I'm excited because it's pretty rare that having an intelligence in science plays such a key part in popular fiction. And though I am no physicist or botanist, I found I could definitely appreciate the explanations and scientific process that Andy Weir presents in The Martian. I don't know how accurate it is (though I have read a few articles that poke holes in the science behind The Martian), but it was very clear that Andy Weir wasn't just bs-ing his way through the plot. There is clearly some serious thought and research put into it by this relativistic physics and orbital mechanics hobbyist-turned-author.

I do hope I'm not scaring anyone away from reading The Martian by the mention that key plot points depend so heavily on science, however; you don't have to be a fan of heavy sci fi to enjoy this read. The science explanations are relatively easy to follow and I think the major draw of the novel to general audiences is actually the quick-witted protagonist and the thrillingly-plotted action. As a reader, you will want Mark Watney to be successful in his plight to get off Mars because he's damned likeable and has the perfect sense of humour to keep him sane during his lengthy bout of solitude. And as a reader, the numerous surprises and thrills will keep you engaged from beginning to end.

My one qualm in The Martian is the writing. It's of the cut-and-dry, no-frills-attached variety, and though many readers won't have a problem with this, I for one prefer a little flair and poetry in my reading. It's for this reason that I feel like The Martian makes an even better movie than it does a book, as the action lends itself well to a Hollywood thriller and the prose works fine as a screenplay. I hope I haven't angered any of my book-loving friends with that statement! I still give all the credit in the world to Andy Weir for coming up with such a creative and thrilling read in the first place.

This might beg the question: is there any point in reading the book first before seeing the movie if I thought the movie was better anyway? And the answer is that I do still recommend reading the book first just so you can appreciate the creativity and research that Andy Weir put into The Martian. And if you're unsure about whether you will like all the science talk? I'd recommend audiobooking The Martian instead - I think you could still appreciate Weir's thought processes even if you just take in a glancing overview of the science.

Other Reviews:
Alison Can Read
Doing Dewey
Good Books and Good Wine

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18 comments :

  1. I agree with you about The Martian being a bit technical in its writing style -- I still enjoyed it, though. I love these types of super-science-y books now and then.

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    1. Yeah, it was easy to sort of skim in parts and still grasp what was happening. Glad you still enjoyed it :)

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  2. Gorgeous review Aylee :D Yay for enjoying this book a lot. <3 I have only seen the movie, which I liked a lot, but also thought was a bit boring, as nothing much happened :p And no one died, lol :D But I still liked it a lot. But hmm. Not sure I would like this book :p I guess it would be boring for me, lol. I'm sorry you ddn't really like the writing :\ but so glad you liked the rest of the book :) Thank you for sharing. <3

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    1. Heh okay, fair enough. There is no book out there that everyone is going to love. At least you gave it a shot!

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  3. I originally got the book from the library, but then I decided to return it and get the audiobook since everyone seems to love it much more. I am a bit worried about all the science info, but I'm glad you felt it didn't derail your enjoyment of the book. I, too, haven't seen the movie but I really, really want to. It looks great!

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    1. Yeah, I get the impression that everyone loves the audiobook narrator, that he does a great job with Mark's humour! I hope you love it too :)

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  4. I could NEVER EVER read this book. The movie stressed me out WAY to much. Haha. I get stomach knots just thinking about it. Being stuck in space? Seriously? It's like my biggest phobia. Haha. I am glad you enjoyed the book.

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    1. haha! Yes, super stressful and thrilling! Good for you for giving the movie a go at least :)

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  5. Did you know this was a self-published book? I was reading about it in Entertainment Weekly. That alone had me curious about this one. I'm glad you really enjoyed it. I like that there is a lot of humor and the science aspects are not too difficult to understand. :) I still haven't seen the movie, but I do want to view that as well!

    -lauren

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    1. I did know that! I always love those self-published to super-popular stories :) I hope you love the book/movie!

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  6. I committed a bookish sin here because the bf wanted to see The Martian so I saw it before even reading the book. Le gasp! I do still want to read the book though and thanks to your lovely review here I'll be bumping it up my list ;) The humor of the MC and the adventure itself are huge draws for me, plus I'm on a bit of a sci-fi kick this year so it seems fitting! I'm glad that the science bits are still approachable because I can totally see that adding to the story.

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    1. Heh, I do that from time to time, no worries :) At least you have the intention of actually reading the book even after watching the movie!

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  7. Great review! I actually watched the movie first and I'm glad I did because it helped me imagine all the happenings in the book. I also loved all the science!

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    1. Ah yes, the movie helped me imagine certain things that I didn't grasp in the book too!

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  8. Haha, yes, science! I loved that about this book too. Although I agree with you that the writing wasn't anything I'd consider describing as flowery, I did like it. I felt it suited the characters and the humor kept me from getting bored with it. I did also listen to this as an audiobook, which probably helped. The narration was very good, to the point where my husband didn't feel the movie added much compared to the audiobook.

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    1. Yeah, I agree that the writing worked with the kind of story it was and with the humour, for sure. So glad you loved this one too!

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  9. Hahaha! Science and I never got along that well, but it's so good to know that you thoroughly enjoyed this book. Awesome review!

    Sarika @ The Readdicts

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    1. Heh, maybe you could still give this one a shot maybe? :)

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